DeTour to Sault Ste Marie
 

We're looking ahead to our cruising this year and are eyeing the north Lake Huron area.

We'll not lock through to Superior (maybe another time), but do want to get to the George Kemp marina for a night or two.

How is it going up the St Mary's river to the Soo? Is it a fast (cruise speed) run or is it slower with wake restrictions? And any other tips you can think of will be well received.

Naturally, we'll be accumulating the proper charts, but haven't gotten to that yet.

Thanks

gl,

It is a beautiful run! If multiple 1000' freighters can make it, all of us can, lol. Most of it is cruise speed. Common sense dictates most of the run. There are alot of fisherman trolling and they like to pull in right behind the freighters in the stirred up waters. There are plenty of diversions on the way to explore, we haven't done much exploring off the main channel, but it is beautiful! George Kemp has been recently renovated and is fantastic. I would recommend the lock tours. It sounded real touristy to me, but it was legit, informative, and very well done--highly recommended! Be aware of Army Corps of Engineers as they may be repairing pilings or general maintenance on the channel, as a courtesy give them room and no wake.

Thanks Snowhammer. I think we'll make a week of it from Mackinac to Detour to the Soo back down to Detour then to St Ignace. Should be a fun trip.

Enjoy the trip!

If you are heading back to St. Ignage, make sure you go through the Les Cheneaux Islands, (Cedarville and Hessel). Look for all of the wooden boats around there. There is an entrance on the east end of the islands and you can come on out the west end straight north of Mackinac Island. Bois Blanc Island and Cheboygan are great options too. You have the option in Cheboygan of going up river and through the lock, then you could venture through the 40 some miles of inland lakes and rivers. Once thru the lock in Cheboygan, you could stay at the Fleetwood hotel, they have docks to tie up at right in front. Just my $.02. Have fun.

Thanks. We've boated lots in the northern Lake Michigan (Leland to Beaver Island to Charlevoix) area and it looks like the northern Lake Huron area has as much to offer. We did the inland waterway years ago and locked both up and down in our Baja 236. In the locks, I captained poorly. The gelcoat repair was pricey! The admiral is now hesitant about locks, as you might imagine. With our new boat, I'll work up to it and see if she'll relent.

We're winding up two great weeks of boating. Made it up the St Mary's to the Soo and loved it. Snowhammer was spot on, it is a great run and I recommend it. The scenery was beautiful, the run easy as it is extremely well marked and even in winds it is mostly smooth except a few wide open areas.

sh, it was great meeting you and the family in ER. I dig your PQ, too. I wish we had a flashier paint job on the 330SS. Might have to find a good imron guy in the area.